China caught in a dilemma over crisis with North Korea
Leadership will not abandon Pyongyang but giving Kim Jong-un free rein is not an option. China and the US may try to contain him
Analysts say China is adopting a flexible approach to the United States strengthening its presence in Asia to exert pressure on North Korea because Beijing has only limited options to deal with its reclusive neighbour.
Beijing has recently toughened its rhetoric towards Pyongyang as tensions in the Korean Peninsula rise following provocative moves by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but analysts say the Chinese leadership will not abandon its ally because that would cost Beijing a strategically important role on the peninsula.
China alone cannot solve the crisis. China is not the superpower that people sometimes think it is. They don't hold the key, but they are the key player
However, leaving Pyongyang unchecked is also not an option as Beijing is under international pressure to contain the crisis.
"China is unwillingly caught up in the crisis," said John Delury, a North Korea analyst at Yonsei University in Seoul. "China alone cannot solve the crisis. China is not the superpower that people sometimes think it is. They don't hold the key, but they are the key player."
China has already sided with Washington in imposing United Nations Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang after its third nuclear test in February.
But tensions on the Korean Peninsula have continued to rise, with Pyongyang warning of a war and looking set to test a missile. The crisis is expected to be centre stage at talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese officials in Beijing this weekend.
Beijing, which has criticised the US pivot to Asia as an effort to contain China, normally does not want to see Washington interfering in regional affairs.